Daily Review has not appeared tonight so will leave this here:
Reportedly said by Matthew Hooton in his latest NBR article this is an extract:
To discuss their idea, Mr Leggett and Ms Pagani met Mr Little, his deputy Annette King and Labour’s political director Neale Jones. Shortly after, word was put out that Ms Pagani was “stroppy.” According to the leader’s office, Ms King had taken particular offence to Ms Pagani while the leader himself said relatively little.
Having observed how Ms Clark had responded to her own attempt to roll her in 1996, Ms King acted quickly to arrange a confrontation at Tuesday’s caucus meeting. Ms King, Mr Robertson, Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford and chief whip Chris Hipkins made clear to MPs suspected of being involved with Progress that they should have nothing further to do with it.
The head of the Rainbow faction, Louisa Wall, supported by Wigram MP Megan Woods, even urged that those involved be expelled from the party altogether. As he had largely done in the original meeting, Mr Little kept his own counsel. Mr Shearer and Mr Parker also knew to stay above the fray. Progress now seems to be going nowhere.
Progress is the think tank purportedly being set up by Pagani, Leggott, Quinn and others.
If this excerpt is more or less correct, then it looks like “Progress” is dead in the water at least as far as the Labour Party is concerned. It also means someone has leaked caucus information – YET AGAIN.
Pure speculation, but my hunch is the info. came either direct from Josie Pagani or through her spouse John Pagani, who is sure to still have links with one or two Labour MPs. If the meetings did go the way it is claimed then it would be a case of revenge because they didn’t get the response they wanted.
In other words, the whole think tank idea is really all about Pagani, Quinn, Leggott and co. and not the Labour Party!
Tppa battle is going on in USA.
“The US House of Representatives on Friday (Saturday NZT) delivered a blow, though perhaps a temporary one, to President Barack Obama’s signature goal of strengthening ties with Asia when it defeated one measure, but approved another important to finishing a Pacific Rim trade pact.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/69360200/president-obama-suffers-setback-on-tpp-legislation
The following explains the way that the US House of Reps ties 2 bills in together in order to pass unpalatable legislation.
” What Obama was proposing was a trick, one used repeatedly to advance distasteful policies, by getting each side to vote only on the parts they like. And House progressives responded by saying they wouldn’t play that game anymore. If they can withstand the pressure, not only will trade be derailed, but the era of the split-vote gambit, where opponents help the victors, will be over.
“Progressive Democrats took their stand on trade adjustment assistance (TAA), a separate bill to “fast track” trade authority for the President, which the Senate linked together, so that they had to pass concurrently. TAA offers modest job training, income support and health insurance assistance to workers who lose their jobs from trade deals. It’s not very effective, but it sounds good; Democrats who oppose trade deals can say that they at least got some help for workers.
TAA and fast track have passed together ever since the Trade Act of 1974. This is a Washington game where Democrats get to vote for TAA so Republicans don’t have to. Republicans don’t favor TAA because they see it as welfare.
That set up liberal Democrats as the deciding factor on whether Obama would get his fast-track trade authority. The President went to Capitol Hill to tell Democrats to “play it straight” on the vote. But voting for TAA as a sweetener for a policy most Democrats don’t support is the opposite of playing it straight. It’s a stupid game, and progressives finally decided not to play.
……But today, TAA fell 126-302, with only 39 Democrats supporting.”
A trade deal so good they need to gut health spending to finance a special programme to compensate the people who lose their jobs because of it.
/
Medicare means many things to many people. To seniors, it’s a program providing good, low-cost healthcare at a stage in life when it’s most needed.
To Congress, it’s beginning to look more like a piggy bank to be raided.
That’s the only conclusion one can draw from a provision slipped into a measure to extend and increase the government’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of trade deals. The measure, introduced by Rep. David Reichert (R-Wash.), proposes covering some of the $2.7-billion cost of the extension by slicing $700 million out of doctor and hospital reimbursements for Medicare.
I have to wonder at the motives, or at least the negotiating skills, of the NZ parties involved in this.
The outstanding feature of the TPP negotiations is that the USA approached us, by us I mean all the parties involved in the initial stages. They wanted in when they weren’t invited, meaning we had something the US wanted.
Anyone who knows about negotiating will know that put the US in a weak position and the rest of us in a strong position. We could tell the US to naff off, clearly the fact the US weren’t invited to begin with tells us we don’t need them to create a strong trans pacific partnership.
Everything about this deal is saying that the US want in more than we need or want them, so why are our representatives caving in and pandering to them?
We’re a vassal state. Consider what we did for them re: illegal Dotcom raid. Only in very rare instances can we tell them to “F off.” Plus Groser has probably been looking at a nice position on an executive board overseas somewhere. Probably the US.
This was part of Nancy Pelosi’s speech prior to the vote on the TAA.
“I was hopeful from the start of this discussion that we could find a path to yes,” she said, adding, “Each week, each of us goes home to our district and in the case of many of us, we put our hand on a very hot stove. We hear the concern of so many families that have financial instability and uncertainty.” Ms. Pelosi made it clear she would not support the legislation, putting in the final twist of the knife.” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/democrats-revolt-on-trade-bill-obama.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
“we put our hand on a very hot stove”…
This is our problem. We need to call our MPs to account. Let’s stop passively accepting crappy government decisions and really turn up the heat on the stove for our local MPs.
Making fun of people’s health concerns is not helpful and is politically bankrupt. Let’s keep in mind that in NZ at least wind farms are often big business, with often little respect for local communities and their needs. People get ridiculed for opposing them in ways that people who say oppose new dams don’t. Why is that exactly?
NZ needs to learn how to live within it’s limits. I support the shift to renewables obviously, but I’m hard pressed to support something like a large scale windfarm on the Lammermoors so that Aucklanders can wear t-shirts in winter, or people can have heated towel rails, or the dairy export industry can keep strip mining the NZ landscape, or we can convert the NZ car fleet to electric and not change our driving habits. There’s only so much land, and currently we are using the same daft thinking that brought us AGW ie that demand will increase supply indefinitely.
Interesting thought about limits – can limits change and therefore living within those limits change. Are limits a construction rather than an absolute.
Build that renewable power now; for the moment people will use the electricity for frivalous BS, but in 20 years when we are in the middle of the crunch, wiser heads will prevail over how that power should be allocated – as long as we have that generation available to allocate.
The ambitious project centers on startup MX3D’s technology, which uses 6-axis robotic machines to create structures from steel literally in mid-air. Plans for building the bridge involve using two (or more) of these machines to effectively begin construction on either bank of the canal and build toward one another, meeting in the middle.
As I’ve said before, 3D Manufacturing is the next evolution in production. I consider that it can, and will, replace many manufacturing jobs and allow for even small communities to produce everything that they require.
Our government should be pushing R&D in this so that NZ doesn’t get left behind again.
Must be a very difficult process to get certification for complete bridge. But seems a good place to start.
The building in place is a major innovation which uses some concepts that have been around for ages, ie Sydney harbour Bridge arch used cranes on each span, to build it up from the pre-cut steel girders , until they met in the middle.
The other day a series of moderations on ts included removal of comments, in some cases whole comments. The removed comments were not defammatory or excessively offensive and IMO were not attacks on the authors, which I had thought are the usual reasons for removing comments.
What I am writing right now isn’t a comment on the bans given or the reasons, or the kind of communication that went on, or the line between pointing out inaccuracies and challenging a moderator, but I am noting that when moderation happens on ts now whole comments are sometimes being removed. I think that is new. This changes things like conversation flow and comprehension of sub threads and IMO degrades the debate where it happens. As a result I’m at the point now where I’ll start making copies of some conversations so that at least it’s possible to follow what is going on.
I didn’t witness the moderation you’re talking about, but I’d have to say that yes, moderation of entire comments has typically been very rare in the past. Usually it’s reserved for out-and-out trolls.
I am disappointed that Andrew Little has not been seen in South Dunedin since the floods. This is one of the reddest voting areas and we give Labour a lot of support.
Volunteers were left shocked, upset and shaken after visiting South Dunedin’s hardest-hit flood victims this week.
They found people enduring sodden bedding, soaked carpets and houses still damp and smelly from week-old polluted floodwater.
The densely populated area is one of New Zealand’s poorest, and volunteers found families and elderly people who had been struggling before the floods but were now in bad health and emotional danger.
It is a matter of disaster responsibilities and public duties. The leader of the Labour Party ought to urgently go to South Dunedin, and he should be standing with, walking alongside and engaging with those who have been affected by the flooding.
from that attitude it’s easy to see why Dunedin South, historically one of the staunchest and reddest strongholds of the Labour Party, gave the party vote to National in 2014 for the second election in a row. I’m currently picking it will be three times in a row.
I was kilometers away that night and the warnings were all to avoid driving into flooded areas. But I doubt that there were that many places open to sell potting mix in South Dunedin:
After helping with sandbagging efforts with the St Kilda Surf Life Saving Club for about two hours on the day of the flooding, Ms Curran said she was told civil defence had left the situation in the hands of support services earlier in the night…
Ms Curran said a team of people was ”fighting a losing battle” sandbagging in a bid to protect homes.
People who asked the council for help were told to buy potting mix and do the sandbagging themselves, she said.
”They were told to self-evacuate and to make the judgements themselves.”…
Bay View Rd resident Trina Lyon, who suffers from MS and uses a mobility scooter, echoed Ms Curran’s comments.
She said she rang the council requesting sandbags on Wednesday afternoon and was told to contact the fire service.
They directed her to civil defence, which advised her it did not provide sandbags but the council should.
She had since learned the sandbags were available at the St Kilda Surf Life Saving Club.
True – mum lived in atkinson st so I’ve spent a bit of time there among all of the council flats – most of the residents must have found it exceedingly frightening and as for potting mix – maybe switched on gardener or whatever they were/are called 🙂
The problem seemed to be that different organisations failed to work together to solve problems; instead they stuck doggedly to their ‘as usual’ activity silos.
Problem was, it wasn’t business as usual that night.
Overall a failure of planning and a failure of leadership.
Thoughts go out to South Dunedin. In addition to putting up with the MP for the past six years, they now have to cope with the one-in-a-hundred-year flood.
Yep. The middle of winter in South Dunedin. The ODT has been giving some good coverage. I agree that it would have been good for Little to have visited.
It’s like a smaller version of Chch, the rest of NZ just moves on and few people are paying attention to what matters or the extremity of the lives of the people affected.
People and communities are less resilient than they used to be and I wonder if many people just assume that everything is being coped with.
Interesting pics of photo ops. So, it would be very bad for Andrew Little to be seen in photos of him in South Dunedin after waters have receded. I guess he must not be associated in any way with the plight of South Dunedin residents.
The local MP, Clare Curran, is fronting the matter. I’m sure Andrew Little is entirely supportive of her efforts and indeed, of the people of Dunedin.
The point I’m making is that if he had turned up, the headlines would be ‘Labour Leader wastes Taxpayer Money Flying to Dunedin to Do Bugger All’ or ‘Little Washed Up’ etc. It’s not like he has the power to change anything, anyway. The real question is why isn’t the actual Government doing anything to help.
‘Labour Leader wastes Taxpayer Money Flying to Dunedin to Do Bugger All’
He could go down there and do something.
Little should be controlling his message, not letting fear of National/the MSM control it. Beyond that, it’s just plain old fashioned values whereby you do the right thing.
Unfortunately I don’t know any more about who is involved with this thing than is in the public arena. I am guessing that quite a few Wellington based Labour hangers-on and wannabes are involved.
Look, weka, it is absolutely crucial that Andrew Little does not open himself up to having photos taken of him concerning the South Dunedin flood or he will be mocked and scorned by the government, question time in the House, plus Dirty Politics and all that. South Dunedin people are very resilient and fine and they can look after their own. Let’s not make any fuss about the flooding. It is really important to maintain Andrew Little’s image in the mainstream media and protect him from how Nats control bad perceptions of him in the public eye.
This man Steve can sum it all up so well! John Key by Steve Braunias
It’s raining, but at the end of the day there’s not a lot the government can do about that, or about Clayton Park primary school in Manurewa which is riddled with toxic mould and makes staff and children sick, or about cold, damp state house which have been blamed for the deaths of two tenants, although I’ll certainly hold talks with the appropriate ministers, who I understand have been briefed by cabinet that the bad weather we’ve been having is due to the Labour Party. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11464360
United in Compassion is seeking funds for our (Charitable) Trust we are setting up, please donate and share widely to support the cause of medical Cannabis
House Democrats derailed “fast-track” today, putting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President’s Obama’s pet trade free-trade agreement, in jeopardy. You may have some questions about what that all means. Questions like:
What’s TPP? And “fast-track,” what is that? Why is Barack Obama yelling at Democrats and calling that nice Elizabeth Warren a liar? What should I, a cool liberal internet person who doesn’t actually pay close attention to horrifically boring political news, think about this? What is the Correct and Smart Position?
To which I am tempted to say: Fuck off, I’m not your mom and I’m not Vox dot fucking com. If you want to understand the goddamn news you have to actually read widely from a variety of sources, you can’t look at one fucking chart and pretend you know what you’re fucking talking about.
But that would be unproductive. So let’s “explainer the news.”
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Over on The Good Society, Max Rashbrooke suggests that its time to start directly taxing wealth:A wealth tax would be levied on net wealth – that is, the value of people’s assets once their debts have been subtracted. Such a tax would be highly redistributive. Levied at 1% on wealth ...
The quarterly labour market statistics have been released, and unemployment has dropped to 4%. There are now 111,000 unemployed - 15,000 fewer than when Labour took office. Its not the performance we had under Clark (when unemployment was ~3.3%), but its still a reasonable improvement over prevailing conditions under National. ...
Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick Wilson, Louise Delany, Prof Richard Edwards, Prof Philippa Howden-ChapmanThe current national measles epidemic in New Zealand is amongst the largest we have experienced in the last 40 years. It can be linked to the problems created by long-term erosion and fragmentation of national public health ...
I’m about to start teaching science communication to tertiary students, which is equally hilarious and terrifying to me. (Hi to my students who have Googled me and found this post.) I loved English at high school, but we spent most of our time reading The Outsiders, discussing the differences between metaphors and ...
Space-X has started launching its Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit with a plan to use some tens of thousands of these to deliver 5G wifi to the whole globe. Chains of these satellites can be seen in the evening or before-dawn skies, through the sunlight they scatter. Here I provide ...
New Zealand was the first country to decriminalise prostitution and it was promoted as a progressive move. Yet survivors of the sex trade say that pimps and johns are emboldened operating within the law, and that the women are treated more like a piece of property to be used and ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Broadcasting New Zealand First supports the commissioning of a business case to assess the viability of a new public media entity. “A strong media environment is critical for a healthy democracy. New Zealand First is a strong supporter of a diverse, independent media,” New Zealand First broadcasting spokesperson ...
Pounamou and technology industries in the West Coast region are set to receive more than $2 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding. This was announced by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau during Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika. He said $800,000 would be given to Development West ...
Clayton Mitchell MP, New Zealand First spokesperson for Labour and Industrial Relations Unemployment and wage growth numbers released by Stats NZ today demonstrate a labour market in good shape with unemployment falling to 4.0%, the underutilisation rate falling to an 11 year low, and wage growth at a 10-year high ...
Hon. Ron Mark, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence New Zealand First Spokesperson for Defence Ron Mark, welcomes the official opening of Te Rau Aroha, a new museum at Waitangi Treaty Grounds as part of our Coalition Agreement. “It is a great honour to be part of an effective Government ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterGood morning,Let us start with important acknowledgements.First, this special day, in remembrance of the 28th Maori Battalion, is also to honour all those men and women who have risked their lives in the service of our country.Second, special guest Robert ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand will look to build on its relationship with the United Kingdom and recommit to the European Union, after the country officially left the continental union recently. The Minister said New Zealand already cooperates closely with Britain on defence and security issues and has ...
New Zealanders are increasingly better off under this Government as wages rise and families have more disposable income, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ reported today that average household disposable incomes after housing costs rose 4.9% in 2019. This was the highest rise in four years and came as ...
All New Zealanders need to have their voices heard at work to ensure we have an inclusive and productive economy. Today we introduce a Bill to do this for workers in the New Zealand screen industry, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “The Screen Industry Workers Bill will ...
The Government has announced further help for the Southland and Otago regions to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. “I’ve approved Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG), making $500,000 available to help with the clean-up in Fiordland, Southland, and the Clutha district in Otago,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Following the announcement that more than 340 schools will be funded to run events promoting vocational education, the Government has announced it will fund a further 257 events to be run by employers and industry. “These industry-run events will allow more than 30,000 students to connect with more than 2,000 ...
Today the Government is making progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill in Parliament. “This Bill includes a series of reforms to improve the wellbeing of the 609,700 households that live in rented homes, and ...
A Government programme to wipe out pea weevil has achieved a world first, with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor today announcing the successful eradication of the noxious pest from Wairarapa. This means the nearly four-year ban on pea plants and pea straw was lifted today. Commercial and home gardeners can again grow ...
Southland residents hit by flooding caused by heavy rainfall can now access help finding temporary accommodation with the Government activating the Temporary Accommodation Service, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help ...
“Is that it?” That’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s response to Simon Bridges’ much-hyped economic speech today. “Simon Bridges just gave the most over-hyped and under-delivered speech that I can remember during my time in politics,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s not surprising. Simon Bridges literally said on the radio this morning ...
A trial deployment of the Police Eagle helicopter in Christchurch will test whether the aircraft would make a significant difference to crime prevention and community safety. “The Bell 429 helicopter will be based in Christchurch for five weeks, from 17 February to 20 March,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. “The ...
The Government has kept up the pace of its work to promote New Zealand’s trade interests and diversify our export markets, with visits to Fiji and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker. Building momentum to bring the PACER Plus trade and development agreement ...
The Coalition Government’s investment in a strong border and disrupting transnational organised crime produced record results for stopping drugs in 2019, says Minister of Customs Jenny Salesa. The illegal drugs were seized at the New Zealand border by Customs, and overseas by Customs’ international border partners before the drugs could ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off construction of a separated cycleway alongside Tamaki Drive. A two-way separated cycleway will be built along the northern side of Tamaki Drive, between the Quay Street Cycleway extension and Ngapipi Road. There will be a separate walking path alongside. Phil Twyford said giving ...
Owner-occupiers of unit and apartments living in earthquake-prone buildings will have certainty about the financial support they’ll be eligible for with the release of criteria for an upcoming assistance scheme, Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa says. The Residential Earthquake-Prone Building Financial Assistance Scheme will help unit owners facing ...
Temporary restrictions on travel from China will remain in place as a precautionary measure to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The restrictions which prevent foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through, mainland China from entering New Zealand have been extended for a further 8 days. This position ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today that Tairāwhiti rangatahi will benefit from an investment made by the Government’s He Poutama Rangatahi (HPR) scheme. The funding will go to the Tautua Village, Kauneke programme and the Matapuna Supported Employment Programme which will fund 120 rangatahi over two years. “Both programmes work ...
All parents and caregivers need to ensure that their children go to school unless they are sick, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin said today. “The school attendance results for 2019 show, across the board, a drop in the number of students going to school regularly,” the Minister says. “Apart from ...
A Deed of Settlement agreeing redress for historical Treaty claims has been signed by the Crown and Moriori at Kōpinga Marae on Rēkohu (Chatham Islands) today, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little has announced. Moriori have a tradition of peace that extends back over 600 years. This settlement ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today with Māori King Tuheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII officially opened the country’s newest road, the $384 million Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway. The 15km four-lane highway with side and central safety barriers takes State Highway 1 east of Huntly town, across lowlands and streams ...
The rapid uptake of life-saving new hepatitis C medicine Maviret since it was funded by PHARMAC a year ago means the elimination of the deadly disease from this country is a realistic goal, Health Minister David Clark says. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus which attacks the liver, proving fatal ...
Kaupapa Māori will underpin the Government’s new plan to deal with homelessness announced by the Prime Minister in Auckland this morning. “Māori are massively overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness, so, to achieve different outcomes for Māori, we have to do things very differently,” says the Minister of Māori Development ...
1000 new transitional housing places delivered by end of year to reduce demand for emergency motel accommodation. Introduce 25% of income payment, after 7 days, for those in emergency motel accommodation to bring in line with other forms of accommodation support. Over $70m extra to programmes that prevents those at ...
Clear requirements for ensuring customers are treated fairly by banks, insurers and other financial service providers are included in new financial conduct legislation that passed its first reading today. “The recent reviews, by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and Reserve Bank of New Zealand, into the conduct of banks and ...
Applications are now open for the fifth round of the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Grant Robertson announced today. “I am delighted to open this year’s fund which has some $7 million available to support performing arts venues, galleries, museums and whare ...
The Minister of Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta today congratulated Associate Professor Amokura Kawharu on her appointment as the next President of the Law Commission. “Amokura Kawharu will be a standout in her new role, leading in an innovative and forward looking approach to the law reform process. She will ...
Auckland University legal academic Amokura Kawharu has been appointed as the next President of the Law Commission, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Associate Professor Kawharu will take up her new appointment on 11 May 2020. “I would like to congratulate Associate Professor Kawharu on her appointment,” Andrew ...
A programme for employers to help them engage effectively with younger employees was launched today by Minister of Employment, Willie Jackson. The Youth Ready Employer Programme contains a range of on-line templates that employers can easily access to help with employing and retaining young people in their businesses. The programme ...
Budget 2020 will be delivered on Thursday 14 May, Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced today. “This year’s Budget will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also preparing the economy for the future. “Those challenges and opportunities cannot be resolved in one budget, ...
I move, That this House place on record its appreciation and thanks for the devoted and distinguished service to New Zealand by the late Rt Hon Michael Kenneth Moore, member of the Order of New Zealand, a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, an Honorary Member of the ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has today classified the drought conditions in Northland as an adverse event for the primary sector, unlocking $80,000 in Government support. “This is recognition that the extreme and prolonged nature of this dry spell is taking its toll on our farmers and growers and additional support ...
The Minister of Police says an operation to smash a trans national drug smuggling ring today will make a significant impact on the methamphetamine trade fuelling harm in our communities. Police have announced 10 arrests and the seizure of up to five million dollars’ worth of illicit drugs after an ...
The Government’s books are in a strong position to withstand global headwinds, with the accounts in surplus and expenses close to forecast, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Treasury today released the Crown accounts for the six months to December. The operating balance before gains and losses (OBEGAL) was above ...
Race courses can improve safety with this year’s second round of funding from the Racing Safety Development Fund. Minister for Racing Winston Peters has announced the second funding round of 2019/20 is open with $347,875 available for distribution. “The racing industry is integral to the economic and social fabric of ...
The Government is committing $300,000 to fund research to update behavioural information to make sure HIV and STI prevention services are targeted appropriately in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson made the announcement at today’s Big Gay Out in Auckland. “There is much talk about ...
The Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media has announced work will begin on a business case to assess the viability of forming a new public media entity. “The Government must ensure New Zealanders have a strong independent public media service for decades to come, which means ensuring public ...
Minister of Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare announced today that the Government will contribute $100,000 to the Southland regional Mayoral Relief Fund, to support communities impacted by the recent flooding in Southland. Mr Henare says this week’s flooding has caused significant disruption to communities in the lower South Island. ...
Heritage buildings throughout New Zealand will benefit from the $1.1 million in Heritage EQUIP funding grants announced today. “These grants for seismic strengthening projects help private building owners get the advice they need to start building work or to get the work completed,” Grant Robertson says. “Timaru’s Grosvenor Hotel has ...
A new survey has found New Zealand’s game development sector has grown beyond expectations and is on track to becoming a billion dollar industry in 2025, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford says. “New Zealand’s interactive media sector grew by 42 per cent in last financial year to $203.4 million, according ...
Te Tii, the lower marae at Waitangi, is among more than 70 marae now connected to broadband internet thanks to the Provincial Growth Fund’s marae connectivity scheme, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said today. In February 2019, the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) allocated $21 million to connect rural towns ...
The West Coast has had a funding injection of over $1.2 million from the Provincial Growth Fund, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced at Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika today. The PGF projects announced are: $800,000 to Development West Coast for a Grey District Regional Digital Hub ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has declared an adverse event for the Southland and Otago regions, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “Widespread flooding has resulted in severe disruption, with many people evacuated from their homes and many farms being affected by flood waters. It’s putting pressure on our farmers, ...
Eamonn Marra’s debut novel makes a study of the mundane: sanding a fence, heating baked beans, three pizzas for $29.99 delivered. Alie Benge reckons it belongs somewhere between Sally Rooney and Elena Ferrante. It was about page three of 2000ft Above Worry Level. A feeling burst inside me: the joy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzie Gibson, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, Charles Sturt University The gothic developed as a European architectural phenomenon in 12th-century France, where awe-inspiring cathedrals reflected a world drenched in religious piety and superstition. Its veneration was revisited in 18th-century English literature, when ...
Financial services company Heartland Bank has reported a solid lift in its first-half profit driven by increased lending despite a squeeze on margins and rising costs. ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, e-bikes are now just a tap away! Josie Adams reviews the latest disruption in transport culture.When Lime launched in 2018, New Zealand’s transport culture got the electric shock it needed. For too long we’d ...
Ministers love to bray about the seizing of illegal drugs. Customs statistics on seizures last year – albeit “preliminary” statistics – therefore were irresistible to Customs Minister Jenny Salesa. They gave her a platform to remind us of her existence as a Minister while acknowledging the work of her officials. ...
The rise of ‘plant-based’ diets seems like a win for those who decry eating meat. But some vegan groups claim the halfway step of vegetarianism is ineffectual if you really care about animal cruelty, climate change, or your own personal health.An article in the Guardian last year asked “Why do ...
FIRST Union General Secretary Dennis Maga says that this morning’s comments from National Party Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith that the party would consider scrapping the Government’s proposed minimum wage increases if elected ...
The State Housing Action Network (SHAN) is deeply disappointed that the Government’s recently announced Aotearoa Homelessness Action Plan fails to provide for increases in the state housing stock which are essential for addressing the homelessness crisis. ...
Electricity retailers will no longer be able to entice former customers with steep and exclusive discounts, the Electricity Authority has announced. ...
The National Party leader Simon Bridges says it came as a surprise to him that the Serious Fraud Office prosecution relates to two $100,000 donations to the party. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne The federal court’s rejection of the ABC case against the Australian Federal Police raid on its Sydney headquarters in June 2019 reveals two issues of great importance to ...
Zero waste campaigners are petitioning the Government to take a more active stance in tackling Aotearoa New Zealand’s waste crisis, with a comprehensive ban on single-use disposable plastic food and drink serviceware, and a phasing in of accessible, reusable ...
“Callaghan Innovation’s $440,000 grant for an electric ferry design is pure corporate welfare,” says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke. “If EV Maritime’s ferries present such good value, then why didn’t it get private ...
President Rodrigo Duterte takes legal action to shut down the biggest broadcaster in the Philippines in what is being described as the most severe attack on media freedom in the country. Video: Al JazeeraPacific Media Watch More than 500 journalists have gathered to protest threats to the survival ...
Pacific Media Centre Papua New Guinea’s Minister for State Enterprises Sasindran Muthuvel has reassured the nation that Air Niugini is taking all necessary steps to protect the country against the spread of coronavirus, reports EMTV News. “The airline has instituted a wide range of measures to minimise the risk ...
Our writers celebrate the best performances you can watch right now on NEON. Basically? They’re iconic.We all love a good story, and a great plot twist can turn a mediocre TV show into addictive weekly viewing. But what really keeps us coming back are the characters, and seeing actors at ...
National finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith has refused to give details on the party's planned tax cut policy announced in a speech by leader Simon Bridges yesterday. ...
The owners of three properties in Twizel will have to sell-up after they failed to seek consent from the Overseas Investment Office (OIO). Vanessa Horne, Group Manager for the OIO, says a group of overseas investors bought the three properties, which ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentNZ First donations scandal Guyon Espiner and Kate Newton (RNZ): NZ First Foundation trustee was lobbying for donor Bryce ...
A Southland school has been criticised for requiring girls to see a counsellor before opting to wear shorts as their uniform. It’s merely a symptom of a bigger problem, Madeleine Chapman writes.On Sunday, Stuff reported that James Hargest College in Southland would soon allow girls to wear shorts or pants ...
The Manawatu Tenants’ Union’ (MTU) celebrates yesterday’s release of the Residential Tenancies Act Reform Bill, but challenges the Minister to stil go further to improving tenancy rights. The Bill would remove the ability for landlords to terminate a tenancy ...
The Government is putting together an $11 million package to offset the fallout from coronavirus and attract tourists from countries other than China. ...
Friends of Sherwood are asking that the following question be put to all voters: “ Should New Zealand stop using all cruel and inhumane poisons, such as 1080, brodifacoum, and PAPP, to kill wildlife because these toxic substances inflict intense and prolonged, ...
Organise Aotearoa will be joining rallies for abortion law reform, scheduled today in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. The National Day of Action is hosted by Fem Force - Feminist Action Aotearoa. “Nobody should be pressured to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By S. Anna Florin, PhD candidate, The University of Queensland Australia’s first people ate a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other plant foods, many of which would have taken considerable time and knowledge to prepare, according to our analysis of charred ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicholas Biddle, Associate Professor, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Last month, the Australian National University contracted with the Social Research Centre (SRC) to survey more than 3,000 Australian adults about their experiences and attitudes related to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan Davis, Professor of Law, UNSW In his Closing the Gap speech to parliament last week, the prime minister injected some order and transparency back into the constitutional recognition process. The PM anchored his government’s work on the co-design of a Voice ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Woods, Professor of Health Economics, University of Technology Sydney Heavily subsidised aged care services used to be seen as a right and entitlement for all older Australians. But as aged care demand grows and costs rise, it’s becoming increasingly clear the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carla Liuzzo, Sessional Lecturer, School of Business, Queensland University of Technology As a parent, I find it so frustrating to take my children shopping, reusable bags in hand, only to be offered plastic toys at the checkout. It’s an incredibly confusing message ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology The jingle used to tell us we loved “football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars”. These days we love Japanese utes and small Toyotas, Hyundais and Mazdas more. Monday’s announcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Donna Mazza, Senior Lecturer in Creative Arts, Edith Cowan University Warning: this piece features frequent coarse language that may offend some readers. Since Adam Mansbuch’s 2011 bestseller, Go the Fuck to Sleep, book titles have been swearing profusely to grab audience attention. ...
Simon Bridges says National would cut taxes and invest much more than Labour in infrastructure, and with less waste. But he's holding back the detail, and got a key figure wrong. ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Creative accounting around the ETS explored, Ardern goes to ground on Peters, and ACT criticised for keeping donation from extremist.Often when reporting on technical and thorny pieces of legislation, it helps to have a specialist reporter looking into it. Stuff’s Charlie Mitchell ...
Planners and hazard experts talk to Newsroom’s Eloise Gibson about how climate change will impact Auckland, and how good planning can help the city adapt. ...
No matter how you measure it, science remains systematically biased against women – and ethnically diverse women even more so, writes Dr Hinemoa Elder.Women and girls in science, this is a public health announcement. You are entering unfriendly territory.Kia mataara, be vigilant. Keep your wits about you.There is irrefutable data ...
When it signed onto the Paris Climate Agreement, New Zealand pledged to increase its net greenhouse gas emissions by 10% across the 25 years to 2030. The latest government report shows with current policy settings it is on track to increase them by more than 20%. The challenge is acute ...
How are the children and grandchildren of Asian immigrants treading the line between immersion in a kiwi culture, and holding on to family traditions? ...
The $11 million tourism package announced after today’s Cabinet is a positive response. Auckland Business Chamber head Michael Barnett said possibly more important in the Prime Minister’s announcement was that further support was possible, as ...
By Joenner Paulo L. Enriquez and Ma. Alena O. Castillo in Manila Thomasian Jesuit priests Fr Albert Alejo and Fr Flaviano Villanueva have posted P10,000 (NZ$310) bail each after a judge issued a warrant of arrest in connection with their sedition case. “Nag-piyansa na kami Fr Flavie at sumama ...
Labour and NZ First are delaying a painful call on either lifting or cutting the annual residency visa limit, while the Greens want the limits removed completely. ...
Tame Impala’s new album The Slow Rush dropped over the weekend to universal acclaim. Jordan Hamel talked to the band’s frontman, Kevin Parker, about the five year gap between albums, and where the band fits into riock music in 2020.Kevin Parker’s musical baby Tame Impala steadily rose to indie prominence in the ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.NZ First is facing the boot at this year’s election, especially as it’s now embroiled in an unfolding donations scandal, which comes on top of low poll ratings. But what effect will the scandal have on NZ First’s government coalition colleagues? And is Labour and the Greens’ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Jones, Climate Scientist, Australian Bureau of Meteorology After the intensely dry conditions of 2019, January and February have brought much-needed rain. Dams in many cities and towns were replenished and some farmers may be able to grow a crop for the ...
New Zealand’s trusted service for ageing well, Age Concern New Zealand, is receiving a New Year boost after inking an agreement with Perpetual Guardian to have the nation’s largest and most dominant trustee services company as the platinum sponsor of Age ...
The boundaries of free speech were at issue in two recent court cases, one in Britain, the other in New Zealand. In the British case, a judge ruled that the police response to an ex-officer’s tweets (allegedly transphobic) was a “disproportionate interference” with his right to freedom of expression. The ...
The Tauranga-based power company Trustpower has cut its earnings expectations by as much as 14 percent because of lower power prices and pressure on margins. ...
It’s not worth putting much credence in Simon Bridges’s complaints about the current Government’s piling on hikes in petrol taxes until he commits to reversing them, says the Taxpayers’ Union . Spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said, “It’s not ...
Researchers say councils need to be doing much more to ensure homes and buildings aren't wiped out when a mega-tsunami eventually strikes the east coast of the North Island. ...
Water utilities right across the country face major challenges to upgrade and maintain their underground three waters network. Water New Zealand’s Technical Manager, Noel Roberts says Wellington’s waste water woes are not unique to the capital city. ...
With more than a thousand locations in 250 cities worldwide, UK company Stasher is allowing travellers to store their luggage while offering local businesses a way to earn extra cash. Having recently launched in New Zealand, co-founder and CEO Jacob Wedderburn-Day explains how the business works. How did Stasher start and ...
National's deputy leader Paula Bennett says if Winston Peters had any involvement in covert photographs of journalists meeting a source, he is not fit to be deputy prime minister. ...
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa is co-sponsoring a National Day of Action – Our Bodies, Our Choices, with Fem Force, Victoria University Feminists Organisation, NCW, and HELP. “Now is the time for people who care about women and pregnant people ...
Open mike 13/06/2015 
Open mike is your post.
The Herald reported over the weekend that an Auckland business owner is being targeted with asset forfeiture laws over a workplace death:A workplace fatality has seen police use a law usually associated with drugs and organised crime to seize millions of dollars in assets from a business owner because of ...22 mins ago
Nobody thinks about the next century anymore. That at least is Sci-Fi writer William Gibson’s observation (in this BBC 4 short interview, starting at 1:43:50 ). He calls it “Futures Fatigue”, but isn’t judgemental about it. Gibson notes that in the 20th century speculation about the 21st (and beyond) was common. Now ...4 hours ago
So the Serious Fraud Office has another secret $100,050 National Party donation before the Courts in a major scandal that looks set to quash any chances Simon Bridges had of winning the 2020 election.Yesterday, Newsroom reported:The Serious Fraud Office prosecution of four people over donations to the National Party involves ...11 hours ago
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Iceberg twice the size of Washington, D.C., breaks off Pine Island glacier in Antarctica Story Highlights: The Pine Island ...23 hours ago
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...1 day ago
Sprung! Former NZ First president, Lester Gray, chats with RNZ's Guyon Espiner in the carpark of a Tauranga shopping centre. (Photo supplied anonymously to NZ First and The BFD.)IT’S CLEAR THAT an important aspect of Jacinda Ardern’s political success is her willingness to seek – and take – advice. This ...3 days ago
by Philip Ferguson Last month B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported: “In 2019, Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians, including 28 minors. Of the casualties, 104 were killed in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and three within ...6 days ago
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Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian has penned a column which chastises the left wing of the Labour party for daring to retain principles and ideals, qualities - it seems - that should be jettisoned in pursuit of power.Never mind that Freedland was an ardent Remainer, that is to say, one ...1 week ago
We are confronted with the spectre of Simon Bridges making clear he cannot, will not, trust Winston Peters – the oft-cited “King Maker” in New Zealand politics. Supporters are lauding it as a master stroke, naturally, because in their eyes, it prevents him being the tail that wags the dog. ...2 weeks ago
Inaccuracies are very common in scientific paper abstracts. Image credit: Science in the Abstract: Don’t Judge a Study by its Cover I have come to accept anti-fluoride campaigners will never stop cherry-picking research and findings ... 2 weeks ago
“The scene is set, the players met…”. And what players they are in this farce of an Election coming up in the United States this year. There is a multi-faceted anger in the broader situation the world finds itself in, in which the false promises of so-called “moderates” find themselves ...2 weeks ago
Unhappy with the demonisation of Iran in Western media, I was fortunate to have the Australian Institute of International Affairs invite me to write an alternative analysis for their on-line journal Australian Outlook. I did, and they serialised it into two parts. The essays are short, so I did not ...2 weeks ago
New Zealand was the first country to decriminalise prostitution and it was promoted as a progressive move. Yet survivors of the sex trade say that pimps and johns are emboldened operating within the law, and that the women are treated more like a piece of property to be used and ...2 weeks ago
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...14 mins ago
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...4 days ago
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Powerful stuff from Fran O Sullivan in todays NZH, excellent.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11464413
It seems to me that Key needs to get some GUTS about the safety legislation.
All the more powerful since Fran is often a fan of Key.
Daily Review has not appeared tonight so will leave this here:
Reportedly said by Matthew Hooton in his latest NBR article this is an extract:
Progress is the think tank purportedly being set up by Pagani, Leggott, Quinn and others.
If this excerpt is more or less correct, then it looks like “Progress” is dead in the water at least as far as the Labour Party is concerned. It also means someone has leaked caucus information – YET AGAIN.
Fuck me, this appears to confirm that caucus is leaking to Hooton like a sieve again
Pure speculation, but my hunch is the info. came either direct from Josie Pagani or through her spouse John Pagani, who is sure to still have links with one or two Labour MPs. If the meetings did go the way it is claimed then it would be a case of revenge because they didn’t get the response they wanted.
In other words, the whole think tank idea is really all about Pagani, Quinn, Leggott and co. and not the Labour Party!
Tppa battle is going on in USA.
“The US House of Representatives on Friday (Saturday NZT) delivered a blow, though perhaps a temporary one, to President Barack Obama’s signature goal of strengthening ties with Asia when it defeated one measure, but approved another important to finishing a Pacific Rim trade pact.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/69360200/president-obama-suffers-setback-on-tpp-legislation
Also read “Fast Track Derailed? House Deals Blow to Corporate-Friendly Trade Agenda”
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/12/fast-track-derailed-house-deals-blow-corporate-friendly-trade-agenda
and
“Democrats Rebel To Block Obama’s Trade Deals”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/obama-trade-deal_n_7569874.htm
“Defeat for Obama on trade as Democrats vote against him
Setback for future trade agreements as strange coalition of Democrats and conservative Republicans come together to defeat president”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/12/obama-trade-deals-congress-trans-pacific-partnership
The following explains the way that the US House of Reps ties 2 bills in together in order to pass unpalatable legislation.
” What Obama was proposing was a trick, one used repeatedly to advance distasteful policies, by getting each side to vote only on the parts they like. And House progressives responded by saying they wouldn’t play that game anymore. If they can withstand the pressure, not only will trade be derailed, but the era of the split-vote gambit, where opponents help the victors, will be over.
“Progressive Democrats took their stand on trade adjustment assistance (TAA), a separate bill to “fast track” trade authority for the President, which the Senate linked together, so that they had to pass concurrently. TAA offers modest job training, income support and health insurance assistance to workers who lose their jobs from trade deals. It’s not very effective, but it sounds good; Democrats who oppose trade deals can say that they at least got some help for workers.
TAA and fast track have passed together ever since the Trade Act of 1974. This is a Washington game where Democrats get to vote for TAA so Republicans don’t have to. Republicans don’t favor TAA because they see it as welfare.
That set up liberal Democrats as the deciding factor on whether Obama would get his fast-track trade authority. The President went to Capitol Hill to tell Democrats to “play it straight” on the vote. But voting for TAA as a sweetener for a policy most Democrats don’t support is the opposite of playing it straight. It’s a stupid game, and progressives finally decided not to play.
……But today, TAA fell 126-302, with only 39 Democrats supporting.”
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/12/the_democrats_tpp_rebellion_just_drew_blood_everything_you_need_to_know_about_todays_shocking_vote/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
A trade deal so good they need to gut health spending to finance a special programme to compensate the people who lose their jobs because of it.
/
Medicare means many things to many people. To seniors, it’s a program providing good, low-cost healthcare at a stage in life when it’s most needed.
To Congress, it’s beginning to look more like a piggy bank to be raided.
That’s the only conclusion one can draw from a provision slipped into a measure to extend and increase the government’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of trade deals. The measure, introduced by Rep. David Reichert (R-Wash.), proposes covering some of the $2.7-billion cost of the extension by slicing $700 million out of doctor and hospital reimbursements for Medicare.
http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-congress-plots-to-raid-medicare-20150518-column.html#page=1
Interestingly in the USA they recognise TPP opening up trade will result in job losses
I have to wonder at the motives, or at least the negotiating skills, of the NZ parties involved in this.
The outstanding feature of the TPP negotiations is that the USA approached us, by us I mean all the parties involved in the initial stages. They wanted in when they weren’t invited, meaning we had something the US wanted.
Anyone who knows about negotiating will know that put the US in a weak position and the rest of us in a strong position. We could tell the US to naff off, clearly the fact the US weren’t invited to begin with tells us we don’t need them to create a strong trans pacific partnership.
Everything about this deal is saying that the US want in more than we need or want them, so why are our representatives caving in and pandering to them?
We’re a vassal state. Consider what we did for them re: illegal Dotcom raid. Only in very rare instances can we tell them to “F off.” Plus Groser has probably been looking at a nice position on an executive board overseas somewhere. Probably the US.
This was part of Nancy Pelosi’s speech prior to the vote on the TAA.
“I was hopeful from the start of this discussion that we could find a path to yes,” she said, adding, “Each week, each of us goes home to our district and in the case of many of us, we put our hand on a very hot stove. We hear the concern of so many families that have financial instability and uncertainty.” Ms. Pelosi made it clear she would not support the legislation, putting in the final twist of the knife.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/13/us/politics/democrats-revolt-on-trade-bill-obama.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
“we put our hand on a very hot stove”…
This is our problem. We need to call our MPs to account. Let’s stop passively accepting crappy government decisions and really turn up the heat on the stove for our local MPs.
Correct. This is the philosophy of the Andersons Bay Peninsula Branch of the Labour Party (Dunedin South).
List MPs must also be held to account.
These people work for us, and they are paid damn well to do so.
On a “lighter” note – from across the ditch – the first dog comments on windfarm syndrome
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/nov/19/first-dog-on-the-moon-windfarm-inquiry-sickness
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/12/dr-onthemoons-self-diagnosis-windfarm-syndrome-check-list?CMP=ema_1732
But no worries Tony has cut the windfarm developments – much better to use clean coal.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/11/tony-abbotts-boast-of-wind-farm-cuts-contradicts-earlier-stand-on-renewables
How the hell are we ever going to get governments to work together to reduce GHG with muppets like him about!
the answer is Macro, we’re not, unfortunately.
Their coal is like dairying is to us. Or more correctly , their mining lobby is even stronger than our dairy lobby.
Making fun of people’s health concerns is not helpful and is politically bankrupt. Let’s keep in mind that in NZ at least wind farms are often big business, with often little respect for local communities and their needs. People get ridiculed for opposing them in ways that people who say oppose new dams don’t. Why is that exactly?
NZ needs to learn how to live within it’s limits. I support the shift to renewables obviously, but I’m hard pressed to support something like a large scale windfarm on the Lammermoors so that Aucklanders can wear t-shirts in winter, or people can have heated towel rails, or the dairy export industry can keep strip mining the NZ landscape, or we can convert the NZ car fleet to electric and not change our driving habits. There’s only so much land, and currently we are using the same daft thinking that brought us AGW ie that demand will increase supply indefinitely.
+1
Interesting thought about limits – can limits change and therefore living within those limits change. Are limits a construction rather than an absolute.
Build that renewable power now; for the moment people will use the electricity for frivalous BS, but in 20 years when we are in the middle of the crunch, wiser heads will prevail over how that power should be allocated – as long as we have that generation available to allocate.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/69340634/anger-at-delay-telling-public-about-christchurch-legionnaires-outbreak
This guy still believes he made the right decision even though the fact four people contracting the deadly airborne disease proves otherwise.
Wrong
Scary
Normal in Christchurch.
Trust authorities at your risk.
Does seem to become legionnaires capital of NZ.
But then again its only dead or very sick people, so National gets all the bureaucrats to cover up and obfuscate or their jobs are in danger.
3D Printed Steel Pedestrian Bridge Will Soon Span an Amsterdam Canal
As I’ve said before, 3D Manufacturing is the next evolution in production. I consider that it can, and will, replace many manufacturing jobs and allow for even small communities to produce everything that they require.
Our government should be pushing R&D in this so that NZ doesn’t get left behind again.
Must be a very difficult process to get certification for complete bridge. But seems a good place to start.
The building in place is a major innovation which uses some concepts that have been around for ages, ie Sydney harbour Bridge arch used cranes on each span, to build it up from the pre-cut steel girders , until they met in the middle.
They’ve been using 3D manufacturing in structural construction for hundreds of years. Back then they called it “brick laying.” 😛
The other day a series of moderations on ts included removal of comments, in some cases whole comments. The removed comments were not defammatory or excessively offensive and IMO were not attacks on the authors, which I had thought are the usual reasons for removing comments.
What I am writing right now isn’t a comment on the bans given or the reasons, or the kind of communication that went on, or the line between pointing out inaccuracies and challenging a moderator, but I am noting that when moderation happens on ts now whole comments are sometimes being removed. I think that is new. This changes things like conversation flow and comprehension of sub threads and IMO degrades the debate where it happens. As a result I’m at the point now where I’ll start making copies of some conversations so that at least it’s possible to follow what is going on.
I didn’t witness the moderation you’re talking about, but I’d have to say that yes, moderation of entire comments has typically been very rare in the past. Usually it’s reserved for out-and-out trolls.
On the authors’ discussion post lprent has reminded us all of the moderation rules. I hope that this particular problem will not recur.
thanks for the update r0b.
I am disappointed that Andrew Little has not been seen in South Dunedin since the floods. This is one of the reddest voting areas and we give Labour a lot of support.
“Volunteers shocked by flood victims’ plight”
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/345740/volunteers-shocked-victims-plight
You mean disaster tourism?
what’s a pretty dickish comment duke.
It is a matter of disaster responsibilities and public duties. The leader of the Labour Party ought to urgently go to South Dunedin, and he should be standing with, walking alongside and engaging with those who have been affected by the flooding.
Too afraid of the MSM taking the piss out of Labour
from that attitude it’s easy to see why Dunedin South, historically one of the staunchest and reddest strongholds of the Labour Party, gave the party vote to National in 2014 for the second election in a row. I’m currently picking it will be three times in a row.
Curran has been prominent in dealing with the flood and aftermath, so maybe not.
We’ll have another chat about this end 2017
ok 🙂
Yes she seemed very vocal and prominent which was good.
I was kilometers away that night and the warnings were all to avoid driving into flooded areas. But I doubt that there were that many places open to sell potting mix in South Dunedin:
http://www.odt.co.nz/video/news/dunedin/345739/no-civil-defence-help
True – mum lived in atkinson st so I’ve spent a bit of time there among all of the council flats – most of the residents must have found it exceedingly frightening and as for potting mix – maybe switched on gardener or whatever they were/are called 🙂
The problem seemed to be that different organisations failed to work together to solve problems; instead they stuck doggedly to their ‘as usual’ activity silos.
Problem was, it wasn’t business as usual that night.
Overall a failure of planning and a failure of leadership.
Thoughts go out to South Dunedin. In addition to putting up with the MP for the past six years, they now have to cope with the one-in-a-hundred-year flood.
Yep. The middle of winter in South Dunedin. The ODT has been giving some good coverage. I agree that it would have been good for Little to have visited.
It’s like a smaller version of Chch, the rest of NZ just moves on and few people are paying attention to what matters or the extremity of the lives of the people affected.
People and communities are less resilient than they used to be and I wonder if many people just assume that everything is being coped with.
When did John Key visit?
who cares about him? 😉
” … we give Labour a lot of support.” LOL, not you personally, of course, CV.
Here’s why it isn’t a good idea to wallow in a) floods, b) people’s misery. You get the piss taken out of you.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/pictures-of-politicians-in-wellies-and-staring-at-floods#.jk4pY208J
Interesting pics of photo ops. So, it would be very bad for Andrew Little to be seen in photos of him in South Dunedin after waters have receded. I guess he must not be associated in any way with the plight of South Dunedin residents.
The local MP, Clare Curran, is fronting the matter. I’m sure Andrew Little is entirely supportive of her efforts and indeed, of the people of Dunedin.
The point I’m making is that if he had turned up, the headlines would be ‘Labour Leader wastes Taxpayer Money Flying to Dunedin to Do Bugger All’ or ‘Little Washed Up’ etc. It’s not like he has the power to change anything, anyway. The real question is why isn’t the actual Government doing anything to help.
Yeah, he had better not turn up then.
It is not a good idea to wallow in floods or people’s misery or he will get the mickey taken out of him.
This is Thorndon Bubble wisdom at it’s best Kiwiri. It’s the optics back in Wellington which are all important.
sounds like it.
‘Labour Leader wastes Taxpayer Money Flying to Dunedin to Do Bugger All’
He could go down there and do something.
Little should be controlling his message, not letting fear of National/the MSM control it. Beyond that, it’s just plain old fashioned values whereby you do the right thing.
You can see how the MSM effectively channels, guides and limits what Labour will consider doing and not consider doing.
And how Labour lets them do that.
Yep. Just watch the MSM pour praise on Pagani Nash Quinn et al as they get their project going.
Pagani, Quinn, Nash and Young?
LOL
Unfortunately I don’t know any more about who is involved with this thing than is in the public arena. I am guessing that quite a few Wellington based Labour hangers-on and wannabes are involved.
It was a joke 😉 There’s probably a better one, something along the lines of “at least it’s not Crosby, Textor, Nash and Young”
I got your reference 😉 and your second attempt is GOLD
Is it still Crosby(-textor), Nash & Young?
deja vu all over again 🙂
Honey, love the one you’re with …
If you’re down and confused
Thanks! I was hoping someone would post a vid.
Nobody has suggested that Little wallow in anything trp, that’s your misinterpretation.
The suggestion is that Little demonstrates that he cares, directly, to people that are in acute trouble.
Look, weka, it is absolutely crucial that Andrew Little does not open himself up to having photos taken of him concerning the South Dunedin flood or he will be mocked and scorned by the government, question time in the House, plus Dirty Politics and all that. South Dunedin people are very resilient and fine and they can look after their own. Let’s not make any fuss about the flooding. It is really important to maintain Andrew Little’s image in the mainstream media and protect him from how Nats control bad perceptions of him in the public eye.
Heh.
Courage requires use to stay potent and available 😉
Why not just ask him in an email, as opposed to public picking? Just ammunition for the Right wing Panza division.
YAY!
USA ‘fast track’ TPPA legislation is lost in the House of Representatives 302 – 126.
Really looking forward to any further vote on TPPA ‘fast track’ meeting the same fate.
“The will of the people is the basis of the authority of Government.”
No public say – NO TPPA!
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Punchy TPP cartoon
https://twitter.com/LI_politico/status/609491735564005376/photo/1
It seems the wealthy are getting behind Medical Cannabis in NSW, a 33million dollar research donation was announced yesterday.
http://unitedincompassion.org.nz/2015/06/12/daniel-haslams-legacy-leads-to-medicinal-cannabis-windfall-2/
The CDHB’s three-year battle for funding
So, that would be the capitalists bludging off of the government again and causing stress to the rest of NZ.
”In 2013, the CDHB’s performance was given a glowing commendation in an independent review undertaken by UK health charity the King’s Fund.”
Yeah, right.
The ‘independent review’ was exposed by Otago Uni academics last year as having been commissioned, costing $186,000:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago072380.html
This man Steve can sum it all up so well!
John Key by Steve Braunias
It’s raining, but at the end of the day there’s not a lot the government can do about that, or about Clayton Park primary school in Manurewa which is riddled with toxic mould and makes staff and children sick, or about cold, damp state house which have been blamed for the deaths of two tenants, although I’ll certainly hold talks with the appropriate ministers, who I understand have been briefed by cabinet that the bad weather we’ve been having is due to the Labour Party.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11464360
The Judith Collins entry was my favourite
United in Compassion is seeking funds for our (Charitable) Trust we are setting up, please donate and share widely to support the cause of medical Cannabis
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/medicalcannabisadvocacy
heh
.
House Democrats derailed “fast-track” today, putting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President’s Obama’s pet trade free-trade agreement, in jeopardy. You may have some questions about what that all means. Questions like:
What’s TPP? And “fast-track,” what is that? Why is Barack Obama yelling at Democrats and calling that nice Elizabeth Warren a liar? What should I, a cool liberal internet person who doesn’t actually pay close attention to horrifically boring political news, think about this? What is the Correct and Smart Position?
To which I am tempted to say: Fuck off, I’m not your mom and I’m not Vox dot fucking com. If you want to understand the goddamn news you have to actually read widely from a variety of sources, you can’t look at one fucking chart and pretend you know what you’re fucking talking about.
But that would be unproductive. So let’s “explainer the news.”
http://gawker.com/explainist-did-something-just-happen-with-fast-track-1710945284